UK Local Growth Fund
LGF grants less than £50k - business grants
Capital and revenue business funding is available to businesses within Pembrokeshire under three categories, Business Growth Grant, Business Start Up Grant and Carbon Reduction Grant.
Each grant will be a contribution to your proposed overall scheme with the applicant having to source a minimum 50% as match funding from elsewhere.
The Business Grant application process is administered by the Business Development team within the Local Authority Economic Development department.
Pembrokeshire Growth Grant: Guidance and how to apply
On this page:
4. What can you use the grant for?
5. What you cannot use the grant for
11. Post completion - Terms and conditions
The information shown herein is for guidance only, and the legal terms and conditions of the grant are set out in the offer letter of the approved applications. Guidance is still in draft and subject to change.
1. Introduction
As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting economic development and businesses, Pembrokeshire County Council are delivering the Pembrokeshire Business Growth Grant which is funded by the UK Government via the Local Growth Fund.
The aim of the grant intervention is to strengthen local entrepreneurial ecosystems and support businesses at all stages of their development to start, sustain, grow and innovate, including through local networks.
The grant will support local businesses and inward investors to grow, prosper and be sustainable, resulting in the creation of jobs throughout the County and therefore improving the local economy.
The grant will be open for applications from July 2026 until the fund is fully allocated.
The Fund will be a business grant scheme, which will include support towards capital expenditure projects, where new jobs are a created.
The detail of the application guidance is in draft and is subject to change.
2. The offer
- Grants available between £1000 and £50,000.
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Each grant award will be based on 50% of eligible costs or a maximum of £7500 per job *created, whichever is the lesser. (At least one new job must be created full time equivalent (FTE) or PTE, in order to access the grant
- Two part time jobs are considered as one full time equivalent. If you are only creating a part-time job (Min. 16 hours per week) the grant will only be paid on a pro rata basis i.e., max of £3750 for a part time job
- Jobs created that will attract a salary in excess of the Welsh national average (currently £35,796.00), will be eligible for a higher grant award. (£2,500 uplift per higher paid job)
- The minimum grant award is £1,000.00 (based on at least one new part-time job created) and the maximum grant award per business is £50,000.
- All jobs created as part of the grant must be claimed within 6 months of the date of final grant payment or 29th January 2027 whichever is the earliest date
- We encourage that all jobs being created with the support of the grant to be paid the Real Living Wage (opens in a new tab)
- It is important to note that grants are paid retrospectively, applicants must have the financial means to purchase the item(s) in full up front, and then claim the grant value from Pembrokeshire County Council following the claims process
- Claims must be submitted within 4 months of the offer letter or by 29 January 2027 the latest whichever is the earliest date. To support cashflow, the grant team will consider the submission of two claims, but prior agreement must be sought from the Council.
- All payments made for eligible expenditure must be evidenced by copy of the invoice and proof of defrayment (defrayment can only be evidenced through the provision of a bank statement showing full payment going out of the account to the supplier).
3. Eligibility
The Pembrokeshire Business Growth Grant is funded by the UK Government via the Local Growth Fund and delivered by Pembrokeshire County Council and as such is only available for application to new or existing businesses within the eligible sectors that are in, or planning to locate within Pembrokeshire.
The grant will be open for applications from July 2026 until the budget is fully allocated
Support is aimed primarily at existing businesses to be operating in or servicing the following growth and foundation sectors:
- Advanced materials and manufacturing
- Construction
- Creative industries
- Energy and environment
- Finance and professional services
- Information technology and telecoms
- Life sciences
- Food & drink
- Tourism
- Retail
- Care
Applications will however be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to their potential contribution and value to the local economy, e.g. creation of jobs in the county’s primary and secondary town centers, rural areas, link to key strategic projects.
However, the following sectors/businesses/projects are ineligible for support:
- Primary agriculture production
- Forestry
- Fishing
- Statutory services, e.g. Primary health and education.
- Unregulated health invasive procedures
- Any business with more than 250 employees
- Any business with a turnover greater than £50m
- Any business or proposed grant project without necessary planning permission
** Please note that applications made by owners of self-catering accommodation with multiple units (3 or more) or offer services such as bed and breakfast and /or offer activities as part of the tourism package, will be considered for funding if they create additional jobs. These applications will be considered on a case by case basis. Applications from self catering accommodation owners where the income from the property is not the owners main source of income will be ineligible.
The following sectors are ineligible for support: - primary agriculture production, forestry, aquaculture, fishing, unregulated health invasive procedures, and statutory services, e.g., Primary health and education.
The Fund is available for SMEs of all sizes which aim to implement their start up and growth plans and must result in the creation of new jobs. Applicants must therefore demonstrate their growth plans (and provide evidence where applicable) within the application process.
All expenditure associated to the grant must be purchased and claimed within 4 months of the date of approval letter or no later than 29th January 2027, whichever is earliest. No extensions will be given for claims to be submitted. The proposed business and associated jobs must be created within 6 months of the final payment of grant or 29th January 2027 whichever is the earliest.
Monitoring of the business and jobs created will take place and evidence will be required. Failure to achieve the committed outputs could result in the claw back of grant funds.
Upon giving reasonable notice, Pembrokeshire County Council reserves the right to monitor and maintain evidence at 1, 3 and 5 years from the receipt of a grant application.
4. What can you use the grant for?
Eligible Costs
Capital expenditure:
- Purchase of new or second hand equipment, e.g. plant, machinery, specialist equipment, etc. Please note plant could include items such as forklift trucks, telehandlers, excavators, etc. General vehicles such as vans and cars are not eligible. **see note below re: purchase of second hand items.
- Specialist commercial vehicles e.g. refrigerated vans, van / trucks for specialised purposes, fitted out for a specific commercial use may be considered on a case by case basis. Note – sign writing cannot be considered.
- Purchase and installation of equipment to create or enhance outdoor trading space, e.g., shelters, gazebos, etc. Please note you will need to provide evidence of the relevant permissions if appropriate, i.e., planning permission, licences, etc.
- IT and Telecom hardware if linked directly to the delivery of the project
- Fixtures and fittings, furniture, and general office equipment etc. as part of a new office.
- Tangible marketing items such as exhibition display stands, pop ups and banners, signage, etc. These must be bilingual to be eligible for grant support.
Specialist revenue expenditure: (these costs must be associated to the capital expenditure linked to the grant application) Stand alone revenue expenditure as noted below will not be eligible)
- Specialist / technical training (not necessarily accredited and only associated the capital expenditure included in the application, e.g. training on use of machines, etc.
- Commissioning / Installation of Machinery (only if associated to capital expenditure within the grant application)
- Specialist software (only if associated to capital expenditure associated to the application)
- Charges associated to the delivery of any capital equipment. Please ensure these costs are highlighted within the quotes (only if associated to capital expenditure within the grant application)
- Initial creation of website to support the business over forthcoming years (not annual subscriptions or costs for ancillary changes)
5. What you cannot use the grant for
Ineligible expenditure includes:
- General revenue expenditure such as, staff costs or any other taxes, hire purchase/lease purchases
- Uniforms / Branded workwear
- General Vehicles such as cars and vans
- Marketing and promotion expenditure, single use promotional materials such as business cards, headed stationary, etc
- Premises improvement / minor building works - unless directly associated, and ancillary to, the main capital expenditure
- Repair, maintenance and decoration costs, including general flooring and carpets.
- Soft furnishings (curtains, cushions) and decorative items
- Replacement of existing fixtures and fittings.
- Contingency fees and costs which were committed or spent before the offer and acceptance of the grant.
- Working capital costs such as stock, rent, rates, administration.
- Membership & affiliation to governing bodies, etc.
- Costs of work being carried out as a legal statutory requirement, inc. planning permission.
- Feasibility studies
- Items purchased from a non-commercial or private sellers
- Professional fees associated with general business consultants including business plans/ BID writing and any fees associated in completing an application for grants purposes
General Conditions:
- If the business is VAT registered, then VAT will be ineligible. VAT will be payable in cases of non-VAT registered companies. If the applicant is not registered for VAT at the point of application but aims to be registered within the following 12 months, the grant will be payable based upon the NET costs (as the business will be able to claim VAT retrospectively)
- No expenditure should be incurred before grant approval as the grants cannot be awarded retrospectively. We cannot consider items that have been committed for purchase e.g. a security deposit without prior consent from the grants team. This will be given case by case consideration.
- Cash purchases will not be considered for grant payment.
- Items purchased through lease purchase, hire purchase, extended credit agreements/finance leases will not be considered for grant funding.
- Purchases from private sellers / individuals will not be considered, e.g Facebook Marketplace, etc. We only consider purchases from commercial sellers / suppliers
- Items bought via credit cards are eligible. ** Limited Companies must use a company credit card for purchases. We encourage sole traders and partnerships to use business banking / credit cards.
Grants will not be payable where an applicant’s business rates and/or council tax are in arrears.
The Grant must not be used for:
- Party political purposes
- Promotion of particular secular, religious or political views
- Gambling
- Pornography
- Offering sexual services
- Any kind of illegal activity; or
- Any kind of activity which in the opinion of the Council could bring the Council into disrepute which includes but is not limited to non-regulated and invasive procedures, nude or semi-nude modelling, gaming centres, sun bed services, medicines, acupuncture, vape shops, social media influencing, tattooists, speculative building, CBD oil products and cryptocurrency.
6. Second hand equipment
The purchase costs of second-hand equipment are eligible for grant under the following conditions:
- The seller of the equipment shall provide a declaration stating its origin, and confirm that at no point during the previous seven years has it been purchased with the aid of national or European grants;
- The price of the equipment shall not exceed its market value and shall be less than the cost of similar new equipment, and
- The equipment shall have the technical characteristics necessary for the operation and comply with applicable norms and standards, e.g., Health and Safety
7. Application and assessment
All completed applications will be considered on first come first served basis until the total fund is fully allocated.
Initially an applicant is required to submit an expression of interest (see point 14). The expression of interest will then be assessed for eligibility purposes and if approved you will be invited to submit a full application.
Each application will be assessed against the outputs and outcomes of the grant project, i.e.
- Value for money / grant per job created ratio and private sector investment levered by the grant as well as the viability of the business plan.
- Jobs created
Each applicant will then need to complete and return the following:
- Completed application form,
- At least 2 full years historical accounts and recent management accounts, if available. If a business has not been trading for 2 years, management accounts and or income & expenditure summary must be provided from the trading start date up to application date
- 2 years projected forecasts (cash flow and/or profit and loss)
- Written quotations (please see below for guidance)
- Growth Project Business Plan
It should be noted that the Pembrokeshire Business Growth Fund is a discretionary grant and is subject to approval by Pembrokeshire County Council. Each application will be assessed by a panel which meet monthly to consider applications meet the standard by the given deadline.
Please note - Applications will need to be proceedable before they are presented to panel so essential requirements such as match funding, planning permission (where applicable), etc. must be confirmed before the grant team will prepare the application for consideration at panel.
8. Procurement rules
a) PCC LGF Procurement Guidance 2025/26 value below £90,000
(inc VAT) for use with LGF Anchor Grant Schemes within Pembrokeshire
Before procuring goods and services included in your grant applications, applicants are expected to conduct the quotation process in a manner which ensures openness, value for money and fairness and must follow the procurement procedures as they are outlined in this section.
Item cost or aggregated contract value up to £999.00 (inc.VAT)
- 1 quote must be received and retained.
- Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care taken to obtain goods or services of appropriate quality at a competitive price.
Item cost or aggregated contract value £1,000.00 - £11,999.00 (inc.VAT)
- A minimum of 2 Quotations must be sought from competitive sources. The quotes must be based on the same specification and evaluated on a like for like basis.
- Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care taken to obtain goods or services of appropriate quality at a competitive price
Item cost or aggregated contract value £12,000.00 - £29,999.00 (inc. VAT)
- A minimum of 3 quotations must be sought from competitive sources. The quotes must be based on the same specification and evaluated on a like for like basis.
- Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care taken to obtain goods or services of appropriate quality at a competitive price.
Contract value £30,000.00 -£89,999.00 (inc. VAT)
- Seek 3 competitive quotes using Sell2Wales quick quotes if a public body.
- If not a public body, demonstrate that 3 quotes have been obtained from the open market. To do this, you must advertise your requirement in regional or specialist press stating a deadline for submission of quotes thereby giving the open market an opportunity quote. The minimum deadline should be 14 days from the date of publication; however, this could be longer if the items are specialist or complex, or you consider a longer notice period appropriate
- A documented record of the quotes sought the evaluation process and the decision to award must be recorded.
Avoiding conflict of interest with quotes
Any perceived or actual conflicts of interest between you and the suppliers that are asked to provide quotes - for example getting quotes from related companies, must be explained in the supporting documentation. Where conflicts potentially exist, mitigating action must be taken and documented.
b) For use with LGF Anchor Grant Schemes within Pembrokeshire with items or contract above £90,000
This guidance in intended only for contracts or single items valued above £90,000 (inc VAT) where a % of the total value is to be reimbursed by LGF Grant via Pembrokeshire County Council.
The following requirements must be followed for the purchase of goods or services, valued between £90,000 - £4,104,393, inclusive of VAT, in order to demonstrate full and open competition
You must demonstrate you have used open and fair practices by using a competitive tendering exercise for all works, goods and services that are included in the project for which you intend to claim grant support within the cost range above.
Initially three competitive quotes will be required prior to grant approval to show indicative costs of the scheme.
If the value of a single contract or item is greater than £90,000 an open tender process must take place to ensure a fair and open competition. This must take place after the award has been approved but before the commissioning of the works.
Your intention to procure a contract or items greater that £90,000 must be advertised in regional or specialist press stating a deadline for tender submissions and giving an opportunity for companies to tender. The minimum deadline should be 14 days from the date of publication, however this could be longer if the items are specialist or complex, or you consider a longer notice period appropriate (The costs of tender process can be included in your grant award if the maximum thresholds for that particular grant scheme are not reached).
The Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents must be issued to all companies that respond to the contract notice.
The ITT must be issued within 5 days of receipt of a request for the documentation and issued electronically in the case of a short 14 day notice period.
Once the contract has been advertised, you can also approach suppliers directly but evidence must be provided that demonstrates which suppliers were approached and asked to tender; this must include the date they were contacted and who in the company the enquiry was sent to.
The tender documents must contain all the necessary information for the supplier to be identified including address, contact details and Company Registration Number (VAT number if applicable). The cost of an item procured from the supplier cannot be broken down into smaller amounts to avoid using the correct competitive tendering requirement. An agreed contract or a submitted quotation/tender cannot be split and individual items taken out of the contract or out of the quotation to be provided separately. This becomes a new purchase and the competitive tendering requirements must be applied again.
Conflict of Interest - Any perceived or actual conflicts of interest between you and the suppliers that are asked to provide quotes/tender - for example getting quotes from related companies, must be explained in the competitive tendering supporting documentation. Where conflicts potentially exist mitigating action must be taken and documented.
You must put in place a process which assesses the merits of the tenders on an impartial basis: (business case, with a genuine pre-estimate of cost and need). The contract description must be non-discriminatory; you cannot refer to a particular brand, qualification, certification, specific origin or trademark. You must make it clear that equivalents will be equally valid. You must ensure there is no direct or indirect discrimination of bidders. All information must be provided up front, including estimated value where possible, in the instructions to bidders / specification / advert / contract notice. You must make available the same information about the contract opportunity to all interested parties.
The selection process to select the winning tender received must be considered fairly and the reason(s) why a particular supplier was chosen must be recorded in writing. We would expect you to select the cheapest tender as your award may be based on the cheapest of the three quotes given at the approval stage. If, in exceptional circumstances, you do not use the cheapest competitive tender you must provide a written explanation setting out the rationale and reasons why the selected supplier has been chosen. Depending on the reasons for declining the cheapest quote, you may be expected to pay the difference between the cheapest quote and the chosen quote.
Avoiding conflicts of interest in procurement
We recognise it is possible applicants or persons connected with them (such as relatives, business partners or friends) may wish to tender for a contract being offered by the applicant.
Whilst this is acceptable, applicants will need to ensure that the tendering process is undertaken in an open, transparent and fair manner, as outlined above, which does not give one person or company tendering any advantage over another, which arises from the process. If an applicant / developer or any person connected with them, has an interest in any of the potential bids for a contract offered:
That applicant/developer, person or party with an interest must outline that interest in writing.
That person or party with an interest should take no part whatsoever in any of the tender evaluation procedures.
Specifications and evaluation criteria must not be biased or tailored to favour one solution or any one party over another.
The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure fairness in the spending of public money and that the integrity of the applicant is not compromised.
9. Welsh Language
Where the Funding includes or relates to the provision of services or written materials (including signage and information published on-line) in Wales, they must be provided in such a way as to not treat the Welsh language less favourably than English, in accordance with the Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011.
10. Subsidy Control
You will be expected to inform us with your application form of any grants and other support you have received from the public sector over the last 3 financial years.
This scheme is covered by the current UK Government Subsidy Control Act (2022). The total amount of Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA) received over a rolling period of three fiscal years should not exceed £315,000 per business*. If you have received any other financial assistance in the past 3 financial years please describe the support in the box below. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor the level of MFA received; you will be asked to declare that this has not been exceeded in the event of an offer being made. [* The MFA financial threshold applies at company group level.]
All bids must also consider how they will deliver in line with subsidy control as per UK Government guidelines (opens in a new tab)
Where applicants do not adequately demonstrate that the proposed project is compliant under the UK Subsidy Control Regime it may be considered ineligible, and your application could be rejected.
11. Post completion - Terms and conditions
It should be noted that the Pembrokeshire Business Growth Fund is a discretionary grant and is subject to approval by Pembrokeshire County Council.
The grant may be recovered should the business cease to trade, relocate or the items purchased as part of the grant are sold on within 5 years of award.
Limited companies must use the business bank account to purchase all the items associated to the grant. It is encouraged for sole traders and partnerships that all goods purchased in relation to the grant are purchased using the business bank account.
It is important to note that grants are paid retrospectively, so applicants must have the means to purchase the item(s) in full up front, and then claim the grant value from Pembrokeshire County Council.
Should the application be successful, the grant money is paid direct into the bank account of the applicant business. This is based on receipt or evidence of purchase and defrayment i.e. original or on-line printed bank statements and original invoices to confirm expenditure.
Any deviations to the application in terms of suppliers and expenditure must be requested to the grant team prior to purchase. Failure to seek approval may result in the grant not being paid for those items.
Photographic evidence of all items associated to the grant will be required to support the claim. In some instances, a site visit will be required.
The applicant must accept the terms and conditions of the grant by completing the notification of approval and terms & conditions within 30 days from receipt. All expenditure associated to the grant must be completed within 4 months of the date of approval letter or 29th January 2027 whichever is the earliest date. No extension will be given for the submission of the claim
The job(s) created and/or safeguarded associated to the projects must be achieved / sustained within 6 months of the final payment of grant or January 2027 whichever is the earliest date. Monitoring of the business and jobs created and/or safeguarded will take place and evidence will be required. Failure to achieve the committed outputs could result in the claw back of grant funds.
For all grant purposes monitoring of the claim and evidence will take place with prior notice at 1, 3 and 5 years from the date of award of the grant.
Should the project not proceed within the period stipulated in the offer of grant, the offer of grant will automatically lapse. Any variation to the Terms & Conditions set out in the Approval Letter must be requested and agreed
Cash purchases will not be considered for grant payment.
Items purchased with credit cards are eligible, but applicants will need to evidence the transaction on their credit card bill. ** Limited companies must use the business credit cards to purchase items associated to the grant rather than personal cards of the director(s).
Grants will not be offered or paid if the business or applicant is in arrears with any payment to any of the participating local authorities operating the scheme.
Businesses can apply for two Pembrokeshire Business Growth Grants for two separate projects for which the outputs must not be duplicated and provided the sum of the two grants do not exceed the maximum threshold of £50,000.
12. Claw back of grant funds
Funding shall be withheld and/or, insofar as payment has been made, the grant recipient shall repay funding either in whole or in part, including if:
- There has been an overpayment of funding;
- During its economic life, the project undergoes substantial change defined as being used for purposes other than those specified in the application, or, having a change of owner without notifying Pembrokeshire County Council.
The economic life is the period up to 5 years from date of the final payment of grant and repayment of funding will be required as follows:
Date of disposal of asset and funding repayments
- Within 1 year - Funding repaid in full
- Within 2 years - 80% of funding repaid
- Within 3 years - 60% of funding repaid
- Within 4 years - 40% of funding repaid
- Within 5 years - 20% of funding repaid
- After 5 years - No funding to be repaid
The above are minimum repayment requirements
If the jobs are not created and/or safeguarded, then the County Council has the right to reclaim the grant in part or in full.
The grant must be repaid in full on demand if:
- The applicant is found to have made any misrepresentation in connection with the application.
- Ceases to trade
- Is a significant change from the details you provided in your application
- Sells any items purchased with grant money
- Changes ownership
- Moves out of Pembrokeshire or is sold
13. Data protection and privacy
Pembrokeshire County Council is the data controller for the personal information you provide on this form. Your information will be used in the exercise of our official authority and will not be used for any other purpose. Please note that we may check the data you provide here against other Council and UK Government datasets in order to verify your application and prevent fraud. For further information on how Pembrokeshire County Council handles your data, please see our corporate privacy notice.
The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and to verify your identity.If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment. Further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, can be found by visiting: CIFAS (opens in a new tab)
14. How to apply
Before we ask you to make a full application, you will need to submit an expression of interest which outlines your business proposal and costs. You will need the following information:
- Your details
- Business details and description of its main activity
- Indicative project costs
- Details of any additional funding / finance
Please note that you must not commence your project before funding has been awarded. Any works commenced /expenditure incurred prior to funding award will be deemed ineligible.
Pembrokeshire Carbon Reduction Grant - Guidance and how to apply
On this page:
10. Post completion - Terms and conditions
The information shown herein is for guidance only, and the Legal Terms and Conditions of the grant are set out in the Offer Letter of the approved applications. Guidance is still in draft and subject to change.
1. Introduction
Pembrokeshire County Council continue to be fully committed in supporting economic development and businesses throughout the county and as such have secured funding to deliver thePembrokeshire Carbon Reduction Fund which is funded by the UK Government via the Local Growth Fund.
- The aim of the grant package is to support local businesses on their carbon reduction and environmental sustainability journey.
- The Carbon Reduction Fund will support local businesses to become resilient, to grow, prosper and be sustainable.
- The grant will be open for applications between 02 July 2026 and 29 January 2027 or until the fund is fully allocated (whichever is the earlier)
2. The offer
Grants available between £1,000 (minimum) and £35,000 (maximum) towards the cost of the renewable energy system
- Each grant award will be based on no more than 50% of eligible costs
- It is important to note that grants are paid retrospectively, applicants must have the financial means to purchase the item(s) in full up front, and then claim the grant value from Pembrokeshire County Council following the claims process (please see in the terms and conditions within this document)
- Claims must be submitted within 4 months of the offer letter or by 29 January 2027, whichever is the earlier date.
3. Eligibility
The Pembrokeshire Carbon Reduction Fund is available only to new or existing businesses within the eligible sectors that are located in Pembrokeshire.
Support is aimed primarily at existing businesses, including social enterprises, operating in or servicing the following growth and foundation sectors:
- Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
- Construction
- Creative Industries
- Energy and Environment
- Finance and Professional Services
- Information Technology and Telecoms
- Life Sciences
- Food & Drink
- Tourism
- Retail
- Care
The following sectors however are ineligible for support: -
- Primary agriculture production
- Forestry
- Aquaculture
- Fishing
- Statutory services, e.g., education and primary healthcare
- Party political purposes;
- Promotion of particular secular, religious or political views;
- Gambling;
- Pornography
- Offering sexual services;
- Any kind of illegal activity; or any kind of activity which in the opinion of Pembrokeshire County Council could bring the Council and/or UK Government into disrepute which includes but is not limited to non regulated and invasive procedures, products and treatments, nude or semi nude modelling, gaming centres, sun bed services, alternative therapies, products and medicines, acupuncture, vape shops, tobacconists, social media influencing, counselling, life coaching, tattooists, speculative building, complimentary medical treatments, cosmetic products, aesthetic procedures, CBD oil products and cryptocurrency.
Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis subject to their potential contribution and value to the local economy and commitment to decarbonisation.
You must either:
- Own the freehold, or
- Hold a lease with a 5 year minimum period remaining after the final grant payment date. The leasehold must be registered with the Land Registry, and you will need to evidence this with your title documents as part of your application and you will need to secure your landlord's written consent for the approved works.
Please note, if the applicant is a Ltd Company, ownership of the freehold or leasehold must be in the Limited Company name.
The business premises must be registered on Pembrokeshire County Council’s Non-Domestic Rates register, in order to apply.
You cannot apply for funding to support work that you have already started. We encourage you to contact us at an early stage to discuss any proposals.
If you previously received a carbon reduction grant from Pembrokeshire County Council you must have a minimum of 18 months of bills that reflect the savings of that system to act as a basline for assessment purposes before you are eligible to apply for a further carbon reduction grant.
All expenditure associated to the grant must be completed and claimed by 29 January 2026. Monitoring of the business and funding scheme outputs will take place and evidence will be required by this time. Failure to achieve the committed outputs could result in the claw back of grant funds.
Upon giving reasonable notice, Pembrokeshire County Council reserves the right to monitor and maintain evidence at 1, 3 and 5 years from the receipt of a grant application. Renewable energy generation meter readings to be taken on an annual basis by the applicant and provided as part of this monitoring process.
4. What you can use the grant for?
The carbon reduction grant’s aim is reducing carbon emissions used by the business. Any proposed new carbon reduction systems should be proportional to business energy use in previous years. It is not the intention of the grant to fund new systems which are substantially greater than usage, which allows the business to sell back power to the grid. While businesses can purchase and install larger systems for this purpose, the grant offered, would be capped at costs associated with business power generation in previous year’s baseline as supported by the submission of energy bill statements.
The grant will apply to capital expenditure within an approved project and can include:
Power Systems
- Small scale, single wind turbine
- Solar photovoltaic panels (roof mounted/ ground mounted)
- Solar photovoltaic battery*
- Hydro-electric
- Grid linked battery storage system (where the tariff is with a renewable energy supplier)*
Please note: A grid linked battery storage system must include a renewable method of charging such as solar panels. It cannot simply be a battery system that charges from the grid and then resells stored electricity at a higher rate resulting in no carbon saving.
Heating Systems
- Air Source Heat Pump (Air to water and air to air)
- Ground Source Heat Pump (vertical, horizontal, diagonal & radial)
- Solar thermal panels (roof mounted/ ground mounted)
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems
Where renewable fuels (e.g., Biomass) are used as the fuel source
- Installers should be MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) accredited.
- Any equipment under 45 kW must have MCS certification
- For roof mounted systems, installers should be self-certified to perform structural appraisals and calculations for the roof structure. If they are not self certified to do this, then a building regulations certificate will be required.
Other capital items that may help towards the energy efficiency of the business premises may also be included (eg. a low energy lighting system, insulation etc) and will be assessed on a case by case basis. These can only be included if they are additional to one of the systems listed above.
Please note EV car chargers are excluded from this grant scheme.
Mixed use premises
Where the business premises is part of a mixed use (i.e., business, and domestic) with one energy supply providing both, the premises must be registered with Non-Domestic Rates in order to be eligible and the grant will be worked out on a pro-rata basis (based on the proportion of usage taken up by the business)
5. Outputs
As part of the application, applicants must give a calculation of tonnes of carbon equivalent (tCO2e) saved over 3 years from installation of the system (based on pre-installation usage as compared to usage of the new system) as an output of the grant.
Your carbon savings will be calculated based on the figures you provide – this will be based on the following: Greenhouse Gas Conversion Conversion Factors (opens in a new tab)
For 2026 the conversion factor for electricity is 0.13096 kg CO2e.
6. Application process and assessment
All completed applications will be considered on first come first served basis until the total fund is fully allocated.
Each application will be assessed against the outputs specified.
Each applicant must complete and return the following:
- Expression of Interest form. Successful EOIs will be issued with a link to the application form.
- Completed application form
- Quotations in line with third party procurement rules
- At least 2 full years of historical accounts and recent management accounts, if available. If the business has not been trading for 2 years, management accounts and or income & expenditure summary must be provided from the trading start date up to application date
- Evidence of match funding
- Proof of the freehold or leasehold ownership of the property
- Any relevant statutory consents (eg. planning, building regulations) Please note, if these are not required, then written confirmation of this is needed from the relevant Authority
It should be noted that the Pembrokeshire Business Carbon Reduction Fund is a discretionary fund and is subject to approval by Pembrokeshire County Council. Each application will be assessed by a panel made up of officers from the Authority prior to final approval by the Head of Regeneration.
7. Procurement rules
PCC LGF Procurement Guidance 2025/26 Value below £90,000
(inc VAT) For use with LGF Anchor Grant Schemes within Pembrokeshire
Before procuring goods and services included in your grant applications, applicants are expected to conduct the quotation process in a manner which ensures openness, value for money and fairness and must follow the procurement procedures as they are outlined in this section.
Item cost or aggregated contract value up to £999.00 (inc.VAT)
- 1 quote must be received and retained.
- Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care taken to obtain goods or services of appropriate quality at a competitive price.
Item cost or aggregated contract value £1,000.00 - £11,999.00 (inc.VAT)
- A minimum of 2 Quotations must be sought from competitive sources. The quotes must be based on the same specification and evaluated on a like for like basis.
- Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care taken to obtain goods or services of appropriate quality at a competitive price
Item cost or aggregated contract value £12,000.00 - £29,999.00 (inc. VAT)
- A minimum of 3 Quotations must be sought from competitive sources. The quotes must be based on the same specification and evaluated on a like for like basis.
Best value for money must be obtained and reasonable care taken to obtain
- goods or services of appropriate quality at a competitive price.
Contract value £30,000.00 -£89,999.00 (inc. VAT)
- Seek 3 competitive quotes using Sell2Wales quick quotes if a public body.
- If not a public body, demonstrate that 3 quotes have been obtained from the open market. To do this, you must advertise your requirement in regional or specialist press stating a deadline for submission of quotes thereby giving the open market an opportunity quote. The minimum deadline should be 14 days from the date of publication; however, this could be longer if the items are specialist or complex, or you consider a longer notice period appropriate
- A documented record of the quotes sought the evaluation process and the decision to award must be recorded.
b) For use with LGF Anchor Grant Schemes within Pembrokeshire with items or contract above £90,000
This guidance in intended only for contracts or single items valued above £90,000 (inc VAT) where a % of the total value is to be reimbursed by LGF Grant via Pembrokeshire County Council.
The following requirements must be followed for the purchase of goods or services, valued between £90,000 - £4,104,393, inclusive of VAT, in order to demonstrate full and open competition
You must demonstrate you have used open and fair practices by using a competitive tendering exercise for all works, goods and services that are included in the project for which you intend to claim grant support within the cost range above.
Initially three competitive quotes will be required prior to grant approval to show indicative costs of the scheme.
If the value of a single contract or item is greater than £90,000 an open tender process must take place to ensure a fair and open competition. This must take place after the award has been approved but before the commissioning of the works.
Your intention to procure a contract or items greater that £90,000 must be advertised in regional or specialist press stating a deadline for tender submissions and giving an opportunity for companies to tender. The minimum deadline should be 14 days from the date of publication, however this could be longer if the items are specialist or complex, or you consider a longer notice period appropriate (The costs of tender process can be included in your grant award if the maximum thresholds for that particular grant scheme are not reached).
The Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents must be issued to all companies that respond to the contract notice.
The ITT must be issued within 5 days of receipt of a request for the documentation and issued electronically in the case of a short 14 day notice period.
Once the contract has been advertised, you can also approach suppliers directly but evidence must be provided that demonstrates which suppliers were approached and asked to tender; this must include the date they were contacted and who in the company the enquiry was sent to.
The tender documents must contain all the necessary information for the supplier to be identified including address, contact details and Company Registration Number (VAT Number if applicable). The cost of an item procured from the supplier cannot be broken down into smaller amounts to avoid using the correct competitive tendering requirement. An agreed contract or a submitted quotation/tender cannot be split and individual items taken out of the contract or out of the quotation to be provided separately. This becomes a new purchase and the competitive tendering requirements must be applied again.
Conflict of Interest - Any perceived or actual conflicts of interest between you and the suppliers that are asked to provide quotes/tender - for example getting quotes from related companies, must be explained in the competitive tendering supporting documentation. Where conflicts potentially exist mitigating action must be taken and documented.
You must put in place a process which assesses the merits of the tenders on an impartial basis: (business case, with a genuine pre-estimate of cost and need). The contract description must be non-discriminatory; you cannot refer to a particular brand, qualification, certification, specific origin or trademark. You must make it clear that equivalents will be equally valid. You must ensure there is no direct or indirect discrimination of bidders. All information must be provided up front, including estimated value where possible, in the instructions to bidders / specification / advert / contract notice. You must make available the same information about the contract opportunity to all interested parties.
The selection process to select the winning tender received must be considered fairly and the reason(s) why a particular supplier was chosen must be recorded in writing. We would expect you to select the cheapest tender as your award may be based on the cheapest of the three quotes given at the approval stage. If, in exceptional circumstances, you do not use the cheapest competitive tender you must provide a written explanation setting out the rationale and reasons why the selected supplier has been chosen. Depending on the reasons for declining the cheapest quote, you may be expected to pay the difference between the cheapest quote and the chosen quote.
Avoiding conflicts of interest in procurement
We recognise it is possible applicants or persons connected with them (such as relatives, business partners or friends) may wish to tender for a contract being offered by the applicant.
Whilst this is acceptable, applicants will need to ensure that the tendering process is undertaken in an open, transparent and fair manner, as outlined above, which does not give one person or company tendering any advantage over another, which arises from the process. If an applicant / developer or any person connected with them, has an interest in any of the potential bids for a contract offered:
- That applicant/developer, person or party with an interest must outline that interest in writing.
- That person or party with an interest should take no part whatsoever in any of the tender evaluation procedures.
- Specifications and evaluation criteria must not be biased or tailored to favour one solution or any one party over another.
The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure fairness in the spending of public money and that the integrity of the applicant is not compromised.
8. Welsh Language
Where the Funding includes or relates to the provision of services or written materials (including signage and information published on-line) in Wales, they must be provided in such a way as to not treat the Welsh language less favourably than English, in accordance with the Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011.
9. Subsidy Control
This scheme is covered by the current UK Government Subsidy Control Act (2022). The total amount of Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA) received over a rolling period of three fiscal years should not exceed £315,000 per business*. If you have received any other financial assistance in the past 3 financial years please describe the support in the box below. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor the level of MFA received; you will be asked to declare that this has not been exceeded in the event of an offer being made.
[* The MFA financial threshold applies at company group level.]
All bids must also consider how they will deliver in line with subsidy control as per UK Government guidelines (opens in a new tab)
Where applicants do not adequately demonstrate that the proposed project is compliant under the UK Subsidy Control Regime it may be considered ineligible, and your application could be rejected.
10. Post completion - terms and conditions
It should be noted that the Pembrokeshire Carbon Reduction Fund is a discretionary grant and is subject to approval by Pembrokeshire County Council.
The grant will be recovered should the business cease to trade, relocate or the property sold on within 5 years of award.
For properties constructed or improved as part of a grant scheme administered by PCC, the Authority will seek to register an interest in the grant-aided property with the Land Registry by either a Restriction or a Legal Charge as follows:
- Restrictions to be placed with Land Registry for projects or schemes receiving grants directly from or via the authority of £25,000 & below for the period relevant to the funding programme under which the grant is being paid.
This process will alert the authority to any change in the ownership of the property and of any potential consequence on the terms and conditions on which the grant was awarded. The grant recipient will be responsible for pursuing the removal of any Restriction or Legal Charge and any costs associated with the process, at the end of the period.
Goods purchased in relation to the grant should be purchased using the business bank account.
Grants are paid retrospectively, therefore should the application be successful, the grant money is paid direct into the bank account of the applicant business. This is based on receipt or evidence of purchase and defrayment i.e., original or on-line printed bank statements and original invoices to confirm expenditure.
The applicant must accept the terms and conditions of the grant by completing the Notification of Approval and Terms & Conditions within 30 days from receipt. All expenditure associated to the grant must be completed and claimed by 31 January 2026.
Monitoring of the business and funding outputs will take place following final payment of the grant and evidence of the outputs will be required from 28 February 2026. Failure to achieve the committed outputs could result in the claw back of grant funds.
Outputs for the scheme you may be asked to contribute to include;
- Estimate of tons of carbon saved
For all grant purposes monitoring of the claim and evidence will take place with prior notice at 1, 3 and 5 years from the date of award of the grant.
Should the project not proceed within the period stipulated in the offer of grant, the offer of grant will automatically lapse. Any variation to the Terms & Conditions set out in the Approval Letter must be requested and agreed.
Cash purchases (or use of cash cards) will not be considered for grant payment.
Items purchased through lease purchase, hire purchase, extended credit agreements/finance leases will not be considered for grant funding.
Items purchased with credit cards are eligible. The credit card must belong to the business applying and applicants will need to provide a copy of the credit card statement as part of the claims process.
Grants may not be offered or paid if the business or applicant is in arrears with any payment to any of the participating local authorities operating the scheme.
Businesses can only submit one application to the Pembrokeshire Carbon Reduction Fund.
The Pembrokeshire Carbon Reduction Fund team reserves the right to publicise any grant support.
11. Claw back of grant funds
Funding shall be withheld and/ or, insofar as payment has been made, the grant recipient shall repay funding either in whole or in part, including if:
- There has been an overpayment of funding
- During its economic life, the project undergoes substantial change defined as being used for purposes other than those specified in the application or having a change of owner without notifying Pembrokeshire County Council.
The economic life is the period up to 5 years from date of the final payment of grant and repayment of funding will be required as follows:
- Within 1 year - Funding to be repaid in full
- Within 2 years - 80% of funding to be repaid
- Within 3 years - 60% of funding to be repaid
- Within 4 years - 40% of funding to be repaid
- Within 5 years - 20% of funding to be repaid
- After 5 years - No funding to be repaid
The above are minimum repayment requirements.
The grant must be repaid in full on demand if:
- The applicant is found to have made any misrepresentation in connection with the application
- Ceases to trade
- Is a significant change from the details you provided in your application
- Sells any items purchased with grant money
- Change of ownership
- Moves out of Pembrokeshire or sold
12. Data protection and privacy
Pembrokeshire County Council is the data controller for the personal information you provide on this form. Your information will be used in the exercise of our official authority and will not be used for any other purpose. Please note that we may check the data you provide here against other Council and UK Government datasets in order to verify your application and prevent fraud. For further information on how Pembrokeshire County Council handles your data, please see our corporate privacy notice.
The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and to verify your identity.If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment. Further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, can be found by visiting: CIFAS (opens in a new tab)
13. How to apply
Before we ask you to make a full application, you will need to submit an expression of interest via the link at the bottom of this page. The EOI outlines your business proposal and costs. All completed applications will be considered on first come first served basis until the total fund is fully allocated. You will need the following information:
- Your details
- Business details and description of its main activity
- Indicative project costs
- Details of any additional funding / finance
- Check eligibility of your project / business idea
Once we've received your EOI, we will check if your proposed business is eligible to be supported through the Carbon Reduction Fund. We aim to let you know within 7-10 working days whether your application has been successful at this stage.
What happens if my EOI is successful?
If your EOI application is successful, we will invite you by email to complete a full application. You will need the following information:
-
- 2 years historical accounts
- Proof of match funding
- Completed Welsh Government Green Growth Pledge
- Statutory Consents (if applicable)
- Quotes for items you intend to purchase using money awarded from the grant.
- Compliance with the Welsh Language Standards (this will be assessed via application form)
- Environmental Policy – You need to explain how you will implement environmentally friendly practices to minimise the impact on the environment whilst operating your business. We would also encourage you to sign up to the Welsh Government Green Growth Pledge (opens in a new tab).
We will email you the link to an application form using the contact information you provided in your EOI. Your application will be allocated to one of our team, they will get in touch if it is incomplete or additional information is required.
Fully completed applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis until the fund is fully allocated, please complete this as soon as possible.
We are here to help, please email: businesssupport@pembrokeshire.gov.uk if you'd like us to go through your application with you.
Panel review
Each application will be assessed by a panel made up of officers from the Authority prior to final approval by the Head of Regeneration. Grant requests over £10,000 will be referred to the Cabinet Member for ratification
Your application will be assessed against:
- viability of the business
- your carbon savings
- value for money for the amount of grant money awarded
Accept the grant offer
We will let you know the final outcome of your application following the panel review. If your application is successful and you are awarded funding, we will email you the terms and conditions of the grant. You must accept these terms within 30 days.
You need to purchase the items included within your application and submit a claim form within 4 months from receiving your final approval and terms of the grant. If you need more time to do this or you have changed any of the items/suppliers listed in your application, you will need to request an extension or deviation.
Submit claim form
To request payment of funds, you will need to provide the following information:
- invoice / receipt of payment
- bank statement showing the payments being made to the supplier
- photos of the items
- bank details
Remember you cannot use grant money for items purchased in:
- in cash
- lease purchase, hire purchase, extended credit agreements/finance leases
Request an extension
You need to purchase the items included within your application and submit a claim form within 4 months from receiving your final approval and terms of the grant. If you cannot do this for any reason, you will need to ask for an extension. You will need the following information:
- Reason why you need an extension
- Date you will be able to purchase items and submit your claim form
Request a deviation
If you change any of the items or suppliers detailed in your application, you must let us know as soon as possible. You will need the following information:
- Items/suppliers you're changing and the reason why you've decided to do this
- New items / suppliers and costs
- New quotes, please read procurement rules for guidance.
Do not purchase any items until you’ve had approval, we will make a decision within 3- 5 working days.
Assess your claim / pay funds
Once we've received your claim form, we will check that you have complied with the terms of the grant. If we need any additional information before we can release the funds, we will let you know. We will email you to let you know when your claim has been approved.
It can take up to 20 working days from when we receive your claim form to complete this assessment and set up a payment into your bank account.
Monitor your business
We will formally monitor your business and outputs and ask for evidence in year 1, 3 and 5.
Visit the Council's Expression of Interest application form on the Submit.com website.
Your application will be allocated to one of our team, they will get in touch if it is incomplete or additional information is required. Fully completed applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis until the fund is fully allocated, please complete this as soon as possible.